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Pokémon
Japanese |dubbing_studio = TAJ Productions |director1 = Michael J. Haigney |director2 = Eric Stuart |director3 = Ted Lewis |recorded = 1998-2003 |country = United States |orig_country = Japan |episodes = 276 273 (dubbed) |year = 1997-2002 |successor = Pokémon Advanced Generation }}Pokémon (ポケモン Pokemon), abbreviated from the Japanese title of Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター Poketto Monsutā) is a Japanese anime series, based on the series of video games and is part of the franchise of the same name. It originally aired in Japan from April 1, 1997 to November 14, 2002 on TV Tokyo. The Pokémon anime series is largely credited to having allowed for anime to become more popular and familiar around the world, especially in the United States, where the two highest grossing anime films are both Pokémon films. It is also considered to be the first and so far only anime that has been able to reach this level of mainstream success with western audiences, as well as being credited with allowing the game series to reach such a degree of popularity, and vice versa. Dubbing History The series was dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment, produced by 4Kids Productions and syndicated by The Summit Media Group. The dub has been the target of criticism and controversy throughout its history. Despite these criticisms, most of the English dub is well-received, and has many viewers, some even preferring it over the original Japanese anime. Nintendo asked for changes to be made to the original Japanese show in the English adaptation. "We tried not to have violence or sexual discrimination or religious scenes in the United States," said Masakazu Kubo, executive producer of Shogakukan. The names of the characters and monsters were Westernized: Satoshi became Ash, and Shigeru became Gary, and the Pokémon were given descriptive names. For example, of the three starter Pokémon, Hitokage, a salamander with a ball of fire on its tail, became Charmander; Fushigidane, a dinosaur with a green garlic bulb on its back, became Bulbasaur; and Zenigame, a turtle who squirts water, became Squirtle. Cast Main Cast Secondary Cast Episodic Characters 'Additional Voices' *Leah Applebaum *Mandy Bonhomme *Ross Charap *Jayne Grand *Dan Green *Michael J. Haigney *Paul Liberti *Jerry Lobozzo *Jim Malone *Matthew Mitler *Amy Palant *Nick Stellate *Jack Taylor *Cassan Treegill Notes *Most every dub of Pokémon is based on 4Kids' English edit of the series. *The original 276 episodes were cut down to 273. Episodes 35, 38 and 252 were removed and undubbed due to controversial content. Further, Episode 18, while dubbed, was later removed from rotation due to its controversial content (the episode features James posing as a woman on the beach with fake inflatable breasts) and is not included on any DVDs or foreign dubbing packages, thus taking the episode count down to 272. **According to voice actress Maddie Blaustein, the infamous episode "Electric Soldier Porygon" (Episode 35; infamously known for inducing seizures in around 685 people in Japan viewing it during a rapidly flashing explosion in the episode, on December 16, 1997) was actually dubbed by 4Kids, with the offending scene edited, though Nintendo refused to allow it to air due to the immense controversy. The truth about this has been unclear, as it has been refuted by Veronica Taylor, though affirmed by Eric Stuart. *Musashi and Kojiro' English names (Jessie and James) are a reference to notorious Western outlaw Jesse James. As well, Kosaburo and Yamato's English names (Butch & Cassidy) are a reference to Butch Cassidy. *While Pikachu (and most Pokémon) keeps its original Japanese voice, on the occasions early in the series where the original dialogue couldn't be isolated, Rachael Lillis fills in as Pikachu. Transmission Video Releases External Links *''Pokémon'' (anime) at the Anime News Network *''Pokémon'' at the Internet Movie Database Category:Anime Category:Pokémon Category:American Dubbing Category:Dubs from the 1990's Category:Dubs from the 2000's Category:4Kids Entertainment Category:Series and Movies based on Nintendo Category:Anime from the 1990's Category:Anime from the 2000's